issues in Christendom are weightier than others.
It is alarming that so many professing christians today, have
relegated the essentials(issues that determine our eternal destiny) to
the background and have rather opted for shadows(trivial and
non-essentials).
RELIGION WITHOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS
When we talk about religion, we are talking about a form of worship, a
kind of belief system.
Every professing Christian has a form of worship.
For some, it is praying and fasting, singing, taking the Lord's
supper,reading and memorising the bible, kneeling down while praying,
While for others it is; going on pilgrimage, sponsoring God's work,
helping the needy and so on.
It is good, that we engage in some of these activities, but we must
understand that these activities will not by themselves, qualify us
for heaven.
Cornelius, had the fear of God - that's a form of worship, he gave
alms - that's a form of worship(religion), he prayed to God always -
that's also a form of worship(religion).[Acts10:1-2], but in God's
sight he wasn't counted righteous. God had to send Peter to show him
the pathway to righteouness.
Peter pointed Cornelius to Jesus.[Acts10:10-16,34-43].
Without admitting, repenting and confessing our sins and believing on
the Lord Jesus, all our activities, good deeds, forms of
worship(religion) will take us nowhere.
After giving our lives to Christ, we need to abide in Him(go along
with Him and stick to Him)[John15:4].
We are also required to live a holy live afterwards[1Peter1:15].
PEDIGREE WITHOUT PERSONAL PURITY
The word 'PEDIGREE' means 'background', 'lineage' or 'ancestry'.
The Christian race is an personal race, it has got nothing to do with
how spiritual our parents are or how committed our ancestors were.
If your Father is holy, thank God for him, What about you? Are you
holy?. It is personal.
The Jews banked on the relationship their ancestor(Abraham) had with
God, they thought that by virtue of that relationship they were
covered.
They thought they could go on and on in their sins without retribution
since they were children of Abraham[Rom2:17-24].
It is only personal purity, purity of heart, holiness(that starts from
within and reflects outside) that qualifies us for heaven and not
pedigree[Matt.5:8, Heb.12:14, Rom3:28-29]. Are your thoughts and
imaginations pure? Do you know that we are not counted as sinners only
because of our actions, but chiefly because of the kinds of though we
entertain[Pro.24:9].
After recieving Christ, you need to sincerely and persistently pray
and ask God to sanctify you, so that you can be pure withtin.
You must make sure you play your part by not entertaining or habouring
filthy thoughts.
Discard them as they come.
FANATICISM WITHOUT FAITHFULNESS
So many professing Christians go to any length in their bid to defend
their faith, their denomination or their Leaders. Some even go as far
as using abusive words on others to buttress their points(which is not
right).
They are very zealous, when it comes to defending the Christian Faith
and biblical doctrines(which is right, since we were commanded to do
so in Jude1:3 and Titus1:13) but we must not forget that '...whosoever
shall not recieve you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that
house or city, shake of the dust of your feet'(Mtt10:14).
This is all we were commanded to do, we shouldn't go bitter or abusive.
On the other hand, there are some professing christians who defend the
Faith, without being abusive.
They defend the Gospel zealously, but they are not saved themselves,
they still live in sin, they don't have a personal relationship with
the Lord Jesus.
'They profess that they know God, BUT IN WORKS they deny him, being
abominable and disobedient...'[Titus1:16].
They have head-knowledge of the bible, they study the bible so as to
win an argument, without applying what they read to their personal
lives.
We shouldn't forget that it takes holiness(and not fanaticism) to make
heaven. We shouldn't lose our salvation in the quest of trying to
defend the Gospel.
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